Back on top: Vondrousova outlasts Wang Xinyu for Berlin title
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is sending a message this grass-court season. After missing nearly nine of the last 12 months on the Hologic WTA Tour, no one wants to see her coming.
The Czech's 7-6(10), 4-6, 6-2 win over Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu on Sunday at the Berlin Tennis Open marked her first tournament win since she triumphed at Wimbledon two summers ago. After missing the last half of 2024 following shoulder surgery, Vondrousova had missed a further three months this year with a recurrence of the same problem.
Berlin: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Roland Garros was the first tournament she played since February.
On her way to the title, Vondrousova topped reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Diana Shnaider, who won a different German grass-court title last year in Bad Homburg; Ons Jabeur, in a rematch of their final at SW19; and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, snapping her winless record against top-ranked players.
The former World No. 6 came into the event ranked No. 164, making her the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history. She bettered Liudmila Samsonova's 2021 mark of No. 106 -- a player whom Wang defeated in the semifinals in the midst of a run to her first tour-level singles final.
"We came here to try and win the first match, and now this is happening, so I'm very grateful to be standing here," the 25-year-old Vondrousova said in her victory speech.
On a sweltering day in Berlin, winning a titanic first set that lasted more than an hour proved crucial to Vondrousova. She trailed at 5-3, and broke Wang twice when the World No. 49 served for the set: first at 5-4, and again at 6-5. That led to another escape in the tiebreak: The left-hander trailed 6-3, and saved a staggering six set points, before eventually converting her third.
After losing the second set from an early break ahead, Vondrousova made an early advantage count in the third. She broke to love in the first game, never trailed, and saved two break points at 4-1 that would've given Wang the opportunity to put some late pressure on.
Mihalikova/Nicholls upset Errani/Paolini for doubles title
After finishing as runners-up in their first WTA 1000 final together at Indian Wells in March, the unseeded pair of Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls captured the biggest title of their respective careers by upsetting No. 1 seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini for the doubles title.
From a set and a break behind, the eventual champions rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, [10-6] in 1 hour and 28 minutes to seal their first tour-level title together, and first for either player above WTA 250 level.
After losing the opening set, Nicholls and Mihalikova broke the Italians in all four of their service games in the second to force a match tiebreak, and then won four straight points from 6-6 in the decider to take the crown.
The unseeded duo had a dream week in all, as they also knocked out second seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe, and fourth seeds Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs, on their way to the final.